Lanyrde · DMV field guide
Subcontractor insurance requirements for contractors in Virginia, Maryland, and DC
A source-linked starting point for contractor teams checking public licensing information before reviewing a subcontractor’s certificate of insurance (COI).
Licensing rules and a project’s written insurance terms answer different questions. The official references below apply to the specific licensing contexts they describe; they do not create a universal COI limit for every subcontractor or project.
01 · Virginia
Check the contractor license scope
Virginia’s Board for Contractors describes contractor licenses by class and by classification or specialty. Use the board’s current information to check the license context for the firm and work being reviewed. That licensing information is not a project-specific statement of the subcontractor’s insurance terms.
Virginia’s certificate-of-insurance statute defines a certificate as a statement or summary of coverage and says it cannot confer rights or change the terms of the referenced policy. See Code of Virginia § 38.2-518.
This guide does not state a single Virginia insurance amount for all subcontractors. Confirm the contract’s requested coverage and limits with a broker or attorney.
02 · Maryland
Keep MHIC licensing guidance in its lane
For Maryland home-improvement contractor licensing, Business Regulation § 8-302.1 says an applicant for a contractor license and a licensed contractor must maintain general liability insurance of at least $500,000. The MHIC administers this home-improvement licensing context. This rule does not establish a universal insurance limit for every subcontractor or the terms in a particular subcontract. Confirm your written contract terms with a broker or attorney.
03 · District of Columbia
Match the DC license category and class
The District’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection lists General Contractor/Construction Manager and Home Improvement Contractor among the license types with COI requirements. Its license-types page describes the application context, and its mandatory-insurance table lists insurance levels by license type and class.
Published DC license minimums
For General Contractor/Construction Manager license holders, the linked DLCP table lists commercial general liability minimums of $2.5 million per occurrence for Class A, $1.5 million per occurrence for Class B, $500,000 per occurrence and $1 million aggregate for Classes C and G, and $500,000 per occurrence for Class H. For Home Improvement Contractor license holders, it lists $50,000 for bodily injury or death to one person, $100,000 aggregate for more than one person in one accident, and $10,000 property damage in one accident. These are license-specific figures from theDLCP mandatory-insurance table; check the applicable class and current official rules.
Use the current official category that matches the business being reviewed. A license-specific rule should not be copied into a subcontract as a universal limit for every vendor. Confirm the written contract terms with a broker or attorney.
A practical review sequence
Record the source of each requirement
- 1 · Contract
Copy the coverage types, limits, and requested documents from the executed subcontract.
- 2 · License
Check the applicable agency and license category for the firm’s role and scope of work.
- 3 · Verify
Ask the broker or attorney about unclear contract terms; contact the licensing agency about its current rules.
Lanyrde helps teams organize vendor certificates and compare recorded details with requirements they have documented.